The present invention relates to the field of shingle removing apparatus in general, and in particular to a powered shingle removing machine, which is pushed across a shingled roof, and which uses a powered, oscillating blade mechanism to lift and remove previously installed shingles.
Residential and commercial building constructions generally have roof decks which are covered with a protective layer of shingles. Shingles are generally placed in overlapping, aligned rows and the shingles are secured in place by a combination of nails, staples or other fasteners and adhesive.
Any shingle, regardless of type, will eventually deteriorate due to exposure to ultraviolet light from the sun, moisture from precipitation, etc. While it is common to install a second layer of new shingles over a single existing layer, eventually the older shingles must be removed for roof refurbishing. Building codes will typically limit the permissible number of shingle layers. This is a physically demanding task when performed by hand without the use of power machinery. Generally, various manually operated scraping tools, such as modified flat shovels, are used to wedge between the shingles and the underlying roofing paper or sheathing, with the front edge of the shovel shearing or pulling the roofing nails which held the shingles in place and breaking adhesive bonds between shingles. The physical effort involved, particularly when performed on a steep sloping roof, is taxing.
As any roofer is all too well aware, mechanical shingle removing devices substantially reduce the amount of physical exertion that is required to strip shingles from a roof. However, they are also difficult to maneuver on a roof surface due to the fast and continuous oscillating movement of the blade. Thus, the workman must stop the motor to push the machine forward for removing additional shingles, which slows the removal process and increases the cost of removal.
It is therefore desirable to provide a shingle removing apparatus which improves the driving mechanism and improves the time efficiency and workman efficiency for removing shingles.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a shingle removing apparatus which overcomes one or more of the problems as set forth above.